Kobe Khalfani, 6, stands next to the White Rabbit character Aug. 11 at Disneyland in Anaheim. Courtesy of Daniel Gilleon.

Updated 02/21/13 to include new comments from Disney.

The White Rabbit character from Walt Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" refused to hug black children last summer at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim – and it wasn't because the rabbit was late for a very important date, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 13 in Orange County Superior Court.

"Plaintiffs allege, based upon the facts and information currently available to them, that a motivating reason for (the rabbit's) conduct was Plaintiffs' race and color," according to the complaint.

Several blogs and TV stations reported on these allegations earlier this month. The Watchdog waited to report the story until the civil complaint appeared in Orange County's court filing system because we wanted to verify that the lawsuit had been filed and give Disney an opportunity to respond.

Six extended-family members – three children and three adults – are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Adult members of the family said they sued because Disney refused to take meaningful action in response to their complaints.

"We have a problem in America and we have a problem in Disneyland," said Jason Black Sr., 39, of San Diego, a plaintiff in the lawsuit and father of two boys the rabbit allegedly snubbed. "If this happened to me, happened to my kids and my family, who's to say it hasn't happened to other families — or it won't happen to other families if nobody does anything about it?"

Last week, Disney officials declined to comment on the allegations because a lawsuit had not been filed and their lawyers had not had an opportunity to review the case. This week the Watchdog obtained and sent to Disney a copy of the certified complaint and asked again for a comment.

Just before this story went to print Thursday, Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown sent the Watchdog this statement:

“We believe the claims are without merit and we plan to vigorously contest the lawsuit. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and strive to provide wonderful experiences for all of our guests.”

In an early email, Brown also said: “For almost 60 years, the Disneyland Resort has provided a welcoming environment for all of our guests. Millions visit our parks annually and create lasting memories with their families.”

Black Sr. said the family's visit to the park Aug. 11 created lasting memories, but they aren't good ones.

His sons, Jason Black Jr., now 6, and Jayson Black, 9, first spotted the chronically tardy hare standing by himself, according to the civil complaint.

Jason Jr. and Jayson's cousin, Kobe Khalfani, 6, went up to the rabbit and tried to hold its hand, according to the complaint. Instead of hugging the child as characters at the park often do, the White Rabbit shook his paw free of Kobe's grip, turned his back, and stepped away.

Concerned, adult members of Kobe's family insisted that the rabbit take a photograph with Kobe, the complaint said.

After the photograph, Jason Jr. and a female cousin, who was not named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit because her family settled with Disney, were similarly rejected by the rabbit, according to the complaint. The character then turned to white and Asian children who had formed a line behind the family, and showered them with affection, hugs and kisses.

Konata Khalfani, father of Kobe, said the youngsters were distressed by the "mean" lagomorph.

"Their feelings were hurt, they were upset, they were disappointed," said Black Sr. "Just to see my kids hurt and the look on their face because of what the rabbit had done, I felt terrible because how could this happen at Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth?"

The adult members of the family immediately complained to Disney officials, demanding that they fire the employee, said the family's attorney, Daniel Gilleon of San Diego. They later demanded that Disney publicly apologize and proclaim that the park does not tolerate racial discrimination, and institute company-wide diversity training.

Disneyland officials responded to the families' complaints by offering each set of parents and children $500 in tickets; the settlement would have precluded the families from suing the park or mentioning the incident publicly, Gilleon said. He said Disney refused to release video surveillance footage of the incident.

Instead of accepting the settlement, some members of the family decided to file a lawsuit claiming civil rights violations, Gilleon said. They planned to get the video surveillance footage through discovery if park officials would not give it up willingly.

Disney’s Brown said no surveillance video of the incident exists. She said the free tickets were offered to the families because they complained they were not satisfied with their Disneyland experience.

As of Wednesday, the plaintiffs were willing to settle the lawsuit without receiving any money, if Disney agreed to meet their original demands, Gilleon said.

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